Major problems with the promotion system for 50,000 teachers deepened last night when it was disclosed that another element of the system is to be referred to the Office of the Attorney General because it may infringe EU law.
The system has already run into legal problems and has been suspended in many schools because it may contravene Irish equality legislation.
The Irish Times has now learned that the Department of Education is to ask the Attorney General's advice on the way part-time teachers are treated under the system used for promoting teachers. Promotions to these posts are based wholly or partially on seniority. However, the current system does not recognise the years of service done by part-time teachers when assessing seniority, which could be in breach of an EU ruling, known as the Gerster judgment.
As reported in The Irish Times on Monday, the Department of Education has already stated that it is "concerned" that even using seniority as a mechanism for promotion could be in contravention of the Employment Equality Act 1999.
This is because there tend to be more senior male teachers in schools than females. It has been argued by legal figures that female teachers could argue that such a seniority requirement places them at a disadvantage when applying for these posts. The Attorney General is also to advise on the legal implications of this.
Many schools have suspended interviews for promotional posts until both issues are dealt with by the Department of Education and Science, following receipt of the advice from the Attorney General.
Seniority is used for A and B post promotions - which involve teachers getting extra pay and responsibilities.
It is likely some change in the system will be required, according to sources. One of the issues to be examined by the Attorney General's Office is how many hours a part-time teacher would need to be regarded as fulfilling a "year of service".
The issue is likely to be controversial within the profession because, according to sources, some full-time teachers would be unhappy if part-time teachers were assessed in the same way as permanent teachers.
On the other hand, many part-time teachers regard it as unfair that their hours are not counted when seniority is being assessed.
Many school managements would like to set up a threshold system where a part-time teacher who taught a certain number of hours per year would qualify. But those doing a very small number would not be included.
At present, a teacher who does 11 hours a week on average over a year is classified as an equivalent part-time teacher (EPT) and is allowed various entitlements. The 11 hours might become the threshold, but many sources said last night that such a threshold would be too high.